Vengeance
by LadyKayoss
Summary: A strange tale of revenge.


Disclaimer: None of the characters involved in this fic are mine.  
  
Author's Note: This is the kind of story that comes to me at three in the morning and won't leave me alone until I write it down. I know it's a really twisted little concept, but that seems to be what my muses specialize in. And yes, I do know this is higly unlikely. It's just an odd little one-shot. It doesn't make much sense, either, now that I think about it...  
  
VENGEANCE  
  
Something about the sight saddened Aki. True, General Hein was not an individual worth saving, but seeing the battered, twisted form that had been pulled from the wreckage of an escape pod bothered her. But it wasn't that she cared about Hein's physical condition.  
  
It was just that there was no justice in the slow, agonizing death he was doomed to if there was nothing to replace his ruptured organs. Perhaps if he were conscious for his last few days of agony, Aki would feel satisfied, but the man was comatose, and unlikely to wake up any time soon. This... monster didn't deserve this release from life, not after New York. Or the Zeus. Or Gray.  
  
Aki wanted to see him suffer, and not just from the pain of his wounds. She wanted to get revenge on him for destroying her life. If Hein died, it would deny her that.  
  
He could be saved, the doctors said. But no one wanted to waste organ donations to restore him to life. He was a traitor to the planet, and he'd only end up executed anyway.  
  
Aki tapped her cheek thoughtfully, weighing her options. She had an idea that could provide the revenge she longed for, but the cost was high. Would it be worth it?  
  
* * *  
  
She decided to go through with it. Her need for revenge grew inside her, consumed her. He had killed Gray, and he needed to pay! But not with death. That would be too easy.  
  
Aki secretively made her preparations. If Dr. Sid knew, he'd have been horrified. And she knew the Council would never approve.  
  
But she had money, and she had connections. She found several specialists willing to do the surgery confidentially. By pulling a few strings, she was able to move Hein's failing body to a little-known clinic.  
  
And as for the other preparations... She hated to do it, but Hein needed to learn a lesson, and she wanted it to stick with him for however ling he lived afterword.  
  
* * *  
  
The life-saving surgery was performed first. Hein's condition was updated from critical, and he was given a week to recover, to see if his body rejected any of his new parts before the next phase of Aki's plan went into motion.  
  
The surgeons she'd hired were a little uneasy, but they were used to working outside the law, mostly with criminals. Their new high-profile clients made them nervous, but the money was good.  
  
So with Aki's guidance, the second step of her revenge went underway.  
  
Any guilt Aki may have felt was gone. The past month of her life had been the most miserable she'd ever had. She was without purpose. And without love. Revenge was all that kept her going.  
  
It burned inside of her, until the day the doctors told her their hitherto comatose patient was waking up.  
  
* * *  
  
His whole body ached, but that was to be expected, he supposed. Hein dimly remembered crashing into the earth, then there was only blackness. He gingerly lifted one bandaged hand, and ran it along his equally covered chest and face.  
  
Hein was stunned he'd woken at all.  
  
"Hello, General," a voice said coolly. "You're awake at last, I see."  
  
Hein opened his eyes, and focused on the face of Dr. Aki Ross. Her face was set in a hard mask, looking eerily familiar.  
  
"Dr. Ross," he croaked. She winced at the mention of her name.  
  
"Couldn't you have done something about his voice?" she hissed to a white- coated figure behind her. A soft mutter that Hein couldn't catch was the only answer, and Aki shrugged and turned back to Hein.  
  
He was become more awake now; probably due to a stimulant. "Why are you here?" he asked Aki. "Come to gloat over me?"  
  
"In a matter of speaking." There was something strange about her attitude, a smugness Hein wouldn't have expected.  
  
"I'm awake now," Hein rasped. "Turn me over to the Council. Give me what I deserve."  
  
"And let them kill you? Oh no, General. That would be too easy. Besides, thanks to my associates, the Council thinks you're already dead."  
  
Hein didn't know what to say to this. "Then what-"  
  
"You're free to go, as soon as you're well enough." Now Aki's expression was unreadable, and something about it made Hein uneasy.  
  
"Just like that?" he managed.  
  
"Just like that." A cold gleam came into Aki's eyes. "But you may find that living will be far worse than death. You'll always carry with you a reminder of what you've done to me. To Gray! I used his parts to rebuild you. Think about it. You killed him, and yet he saved your life."  
  
The hard look on Aki's face caused a chill to to down Hein's spine. This didn't make sense! Why would she do this? She was beginning to frighten him.  
  
"Oh, yes. You'll always be reminded of the lives you destroyed." Aki nodded to the doctor, who began to unwinde the bandages around Hein's head.  
  
Aki handed him a mirror. "Whenever you see yourself, you'll remember what you did. You'll never, ever forget." With that, she turned away and left him.  
  
Hein stared at the face in the mirror. Brown eyes under short brown hair stared back at him, set in a face that was familiar, but not his own.  
  
"I used his parts to rebuild you," Aki had said. It was Gray's face staring back at him, a look of confusion and terror in his eyes.  
  
Hein howled and shattered the mirror.  
  
The End 


End file.
